Ill. Court Shields Anonymous Online Griper from Realty Co.

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Yelp! account holder Diana Z., Chicago, IL can retain her aura of mystery thanks to an Appellate Court of  Illinois ruling denying a realty management company's efforts to identify the unidentified critic blasting it for charging her rent collection late fees.

In Brompton Building, LLC v. Yelp! Inc. (2013 WL 416185), the management company, whom the anonymous Diana Z. mistakenly identified as managing the apartment building in which she lived, sought to identify its critic pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 224, which states that a "person or entity who wishes to engage in discovery for the sole purpose of ascertaining the identity of one who may be responsible in damages may file an independent action for such discovery."

As reported by prominent Chicago social media lawyer Evan Brown in his law firm's online newsletter, the Appellate Court affirmed a trial court's denial of the Rule 224 petition. The appellate court ruled that the plaintiff failed to show how it was damaged by the Yelp! poster, and noted the statements at issue were non-actionable opinions, rather than assertions of fact.

Federal Judge Rules Oregon Shield Law Won't Cover 'Investigative Blogger'

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The United States District Court for the District of Oregon last week in Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox (Case No. CV-11-57-HZ) ruled that a self-proclaimed "investigative blogger" could not avail herself of Oregon's shield law [ORS 44.510-44.540] to avoid disclosing the identity of confidential sources to the plaintiff in a defamation suit.

Obsidian sued Crystal Cox for allegedly false statements appearing on several Web sites, including her own obsidianfinancesucks.com (catchy). Among the purported defamatory content are allegations of tax fraud and fraud against the government. Cox, who is defending herself in the suit, sought protection under the shield law, contending she is a member of the media.

The federal court disagreed, noting that she is not affiliated with any print or broadcast medium. More to the point, the court cited a provision of Oregon's shield law that "do[es] not apply with respect to the content or source of allegedly defamatory information, in [a] civil action for defamation wherein the defendant asserts a defense based on the content or source of such information.” As the underlying claim in the lawsuit is defamation, the statute offers no shelter for Cox, the court ruled.

Tip of the hat to Chicago attorney Evan Brown's Internetcases.com blog for picking up on this case.